Button-drilling machine.



Patented July 4, I899.

F. M. JOSLIN.

BUTTON DRILLING MACHINE.

(Application filed Mar. 11, 1899.)

. 3 SheetsSheet (No Model.)

Pateht'ed July 4, 1899.-

3 SheetsSheet 2 593 C l-Heine u I v F M JOSLIN BUTTON DRILLING MACHINE.

(Application filed Mar. 11, 1899.)

No. 628,097. Patented July 4, I899.

' F. m. .msuu.

BUTTON DRILLING MACHINE.

(Application filed. Mar. 11, 1899.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 3,

(No Model.) I

w a M Mm UNITED STATES PATENT QEFICE.

FRANK M. JOSLIN, OF AMSTERDAM, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO HARRYA. INMAN, OF SAME PLACE.

BUTTON-DRILLING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 628,097, dated July 4,1899.

Application filed March 11, 1899. Serial No. 708,636. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK M. J OSLIN, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Amsterdam, in the county of Montgomery and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Button-Drilling Machines, of which the following is a specification. 1

The features embodied in my machine will be hereinafter explained indetail, one or two of the more important ones of which I will refer tohere, as follows: My machine is so timed that the. approach andwithdrawal of the buttons to the drills are retarded at the commencementand end of the movement, but relatively rapid during the interveningtime, so that the feed is slowest at the time the drills enter thebuttons and also at the time they are passing through their lower sides.In this way chipping of the buttons is avoided. Again, the constructionis such that the drills are stationary and the buttons are lifted tothem.

This secures much better and more accurate drilling. Again,the machineis so constructed that the plate which carries the buttons is during thedrilling operation held absolutelyrigid in proper position, so that nochattering of the buttons is possble, whereby chipping is avoided andthe drilling of the buttons rendered more perfect. Again, theconstruction is such that when the button-carrying plate is looked, asabove stated, and the drilling operation is performed the belt thatrotates that plate is made to slip, so that the instant the lockingdevice is released the plate moves, whereby the speed of the machine isincreased.

In addition to the above-stated advantages I have embodied in thismachine certain novel devices for rendering its operation automatic inseveral respects and for securing desirable adjustments, whereby moresatisfactory operation of the machine and more perfect work areobtained.

Referring to the drawings hereof, Figure 1 is a front elevation of themachine. Fig. 2 is a side elevation. Fig. 3 is a plan of thebutton-carryin g clutch-plate. Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional detail ofthe button-carrying clutch-plate and coacting parts, taken on the 4 lineX X of Fig. 3 and looking in the direc- :8 is a detail, partly insection, of the cam mechanism for actuating the plunger upon which thebutton-carrying plate is supported.

A is the base of the machine, and B the standard rising therefrom. O isa table on top of thestandard. These parts are preferably a singlecasting,but may be made as preferred.

D is the main driving-pulley, supported upon a shaft E,which isjournaled in a bracket F, preferably cast on the standard B.-

v G and G are speeded pulleys actuated by the belt H. The speed-pulley Gis mounted upon the shaft I, which passes through the machine, and onits left-hand end, as shown in Fig. 2, is theplunger-operatingmechanism, which will be hereinafter described. On theright-hand side of the standard there is a pinion J,which meshes into agear-wheel K,which is mounted upon a shaft supported in the standard,upon which shaft there is also keyed the pulley L. 1

I will here state that in the drawings hereof I show grooved pulleys inmany instances. This is not essential. Any desired form of pulleys andbelts may be employed, and in some instances, if desired, gearing may besubstituted for the pulleys.

M M are two idlers mounted upon axes N, attached to the standard.

0 is a horizontally-disposed pulley (best seen in Fig. 4:) which ismounted upon a stud P,which forms part of the plunger Q,and castintegral with the pulley O is a ratchet-wheel R. (See Fig. 7.) On top ofthe plunger Q there is a horizontal plate S,which supports,

by means of studs T, a ring-like structure U, the inner face or edge ofwhich (shown at V, see Figs. 8 and 4) is made in the form of a cam.

W is a thin circular plate, preferably about as thick as the thickestbuttons that will be drilled upon the machine, which is fastened byscrews a a to the upper surface of the pulley-block O and which revolvesin thedirection of the curved arrow shown on the face ICO of Fig. Inthis plate IV a series of halfround openings 1) b b (see Figs. 3 and 4)are made of about the diameter of the buttons to be drilled. In thisplate also there are made certain radial grooves c c, in which slideclutch-plates (Z d, which are made in the form shown in Fig. 6that is tosay, they preferably are about as thick as the plate IVand in theirfront end there is a semicircular recess e, corresponding to therecess 1) in the plate W, and from their under side, near the rearend,there isa downwardly-extend ing stud f, about which there ispreferably a sleeve 7, to which is attached a spring 72, which abuts atthe inner end against the bottom of a recess -i,made in the pulley-blockO. The outer surface of the sleeve g engages with the camshaped edge Vof the ring U, so that as the plate IV revolves, carrying theclutch-plates dd with it, they are by the action of the cam Vexerted inone direction and by the action of the springs h in the oppositedirection caused to move slightly inwardly and outwardly,thus formingclutches to hold the huttons. It will he noticed (special referencebeing had to Fig. 3) that the cam is so located that the four clutcheswhich are at any time at the right-hand side of the plate W are closedfirmly, holding the button-blan ks within them, all the others beingopen.

j is a plate superposed upon the buttoncarrying plate W, which serves tohold the clutches d in place.

is a washer placed under the nut Zin order that the plate 7' may be heldproperly in position.

m is a feeding trayor table, near which the operator sits to feed theblanks to the plate. It is cut out at one edge, so as to conform to theshape of the rotary plate IV, as usual.

The ring U is not perforated excepting at one point that is to say, atthe point marked 11, (see Figs. 3 and 5,) which registers with the pointat which the last closed or buttongripping clutch (I will stop after thedrilling has been completed--and the under side of the opening isreamed, as shown in Fig. 5, so that the button will easily drop throughinto a delivery-chute 0 and be discharged into a suitable receptacle.Above this opening there is arranged a brush 1), supported upon asuitable standard g, which is in turn supported upon a block 7, attachedto the upper framing of the machine.

The plunger Q passes downwardly through a slideway 8, (see Figs. 1 and2,) and at its lower end is provided with a transverse slideway 25, inwhich is arranged a horizontal sliding block "Lt. (See Fig. 8.) Theshaft I passes through the standard, and from its forward end thereprojects an eccentric-pin c, which passes through a sleeve to, theexterior surface of which snugly engages with the inside of the slidingblock a. To the outer end of this sleeve there is threaded a cap y, andat the base of the threads on the sleeve there is formedacircumferential shoulders, against which is clamped, by means of the screw-capy, a lever a, (best seen in Fig. 1,) which is perforated, so as to fitover the end of the sleeve, as shown, that it may be clamped between thecap y and the shoulder .2 upon screwing up the cap firmly in such mannerthat these three parts-the sleeve to, the lever a, and the cap y-willbecome practically an integral structure. In the face of the lever a isa concentric slot 1), in which works a set-screw c, which is tapped intothe sliding block tt. The sleeve to is what may be called an eccentricsleeve that is to say, the hole bored through it is eccentric to theactual axis of the sleeve, whereby the metal on one side of the sleeveis much thicker than on the other side, as shown clearly-in Fig. 8. Itwill be seen, therefore, that as the shaft I revolves theeccentric-pin 1) on the end of it, engaging with the sleeve to and,through it, with the sliding block a, will cause the plunger Q, carryingon its upper end the button-carrying clutch-plate and all the coactingparts, to rise and fall once to each revolution of the shaft, and alsothat by loosening the set-screw c and moving the lever a upwardly ordownwardly, as desired, the position of the eccentric sleeve to relativeto the horizontal sliding block to may be changed, so that the initialposition or the plunger may be adjusted vertically as desired, and thatthese adjustmen ts may be exceedingly delicate or minute. It will alsobe observed that owing to the occentricity of the crank-pint) on the endof the shaft I the starting and stopping movements of the plunger,whether on its up-or down stroke, are relatively slow as compared withits movement intermediate these two points, so that the feed of thedrills in entering the buttons and in passing through their lower sideswill be much slower than during the time they are drilling the medialportions of the buttons.

The stop-movement devices, whereby the clutch-plate is held immovableduring the drilling operation, are shown in Fig. 7. As above stated, Ris a ratchet-wheel attached to the pulley-block 0. d is a pawl pivotedat e to any suitable part of the plate S and held by a spring f incontact with the ratchet R. g is a stud attached to any suitable part ofthe machine,which supports a rocking latch 71' by a pivot 2". Near thelower end of the latch h there is a setscrewj, whereby the position ofthe latch can be regulated. The pawl d at its lower end engages with theupper end of the latch h, as shown clearly in Fig. 7, and the rear endof the pawl and the upper end of the latch are beveled in such manner,as shown in Fig. 7, that upon the upward movement of the plunger thepawl will press the latch 71. to the right and will not be moved by it,but upon the downstroke the meeting surfaces of the pawl and latch arechanged, so that the latter will control the former and will withdrawit, compressing the spring f from the tooth of the ratchet R with whichit is then inengagement, and immediately thereafter free the pawl again,so that it will be instantly engaged with the succeeding tooth. Theset-screwy" is provided so that this action of these parts may besecured by properly adjusting it. is a belt traversing the pulley L, theidlers M M, and the pulley O, and this belt is traveling all the time,so that when the pulley O is held against rotation by the ratchet andpawl above described this belt slips, at all times, however, exercisingits power to start the pulley O and the button-carrying plate attachedto it as soon as the pawl d releases the ratchet R.

Referring now to the drills and their coacting parts,on top of thecap-plate O of the standard there is a plate or table-like structure Z,upon which is supported an upper plate m by posts at, and between theseplates, at one side, is arranged a shaft 0, upon which a series ofpulleysppp are journaled, and upon the outer end of the shaft 0' thereis'a driving-pulley q, over which passes a belt r,which may be directedby idlers s, suitably journaled, as desired. At the opposite ends of theplates Z m are arranged the drill-spindles t t t 15', preferably four innumber, each of which is provided with a belt-Wheel u.

o n v o are belts which pass about the pulleys p and 11/ of therespective spindles. The drills w are attached to'the drill-spindles byclutches in the usual manner. These spindles are staggered in theiradjustment, as shown in Fig. 2, so that two of them are nearer the axisof the machine than the other two,

and they are preferably adjustable by means of a set-screw y at theirupper ends, so that the drills may be thrown slightly in or out, asdesired, so that the holes in the buttons will be drilled at a greateror less distance radially from their axis or center, depending upon thesize of the buttons.

From the foregoing the construction and operation of the machine will bereadily understood by those who are familiar with this art. A briefgeneral description, however, of the operation will be now given.

As the button-carrying clutch-plate revolves, alternatly opening andclosing the clutches and periodically discharging the drilled buttons,the operator feeds the buttonblanks to the opened clutches, which asthey approach the drills are closed by the action of the cam-plate U.Thus the button-blanks are firmly held by the clutches. Thereafter asthe button-carrying plate revolves by a step-by-step movement, therebeing,as shown, fourteen teeth in the ratchet-wheel R and fourteenclutches in the clutch-plate, the

plunger carrying the clutch-plate and buttons is automatically elevated,so that the drills engage theclamped buttons, each drill drilling itsown hole and each button being subjected to the operation of but onedrill at a time, and the adjustment of the clutch-plate relative to thedrills, as above stated, maybe exactly defined as the nature of thematerial or size of the button requires. Owing to the peculiarconstruction of the plunger-operating mechanism the feed of the buttonsto the drills at the commencement and conclusion of the drillingoperation is slower than intermediate these points, so that chipping ofthe buttons or injury to the drills is avoided. After the blank has beendrilled by the last drill the next step or movement of the clutchplateopens the clutch and releases the drilled blank, which will by its owngravity ordinarily drop through the opening at in the ring U and beconducted by the delivery-chute into a suitable receptacle. If it shouldstick for any reason, the brush p acts as an ejector, and likewiseclears the clutch of any dust or powder resulting from the drillingoperation.

It will be obvious to those who are familiar with this artthat variousmodifications may be made in the details of the machine withoutdeparting from the essentials of the invention. I therefore do not limitmyself to such details, and particularly I call attention to the factthat any number of drills other than four may be used and that theymaybe arranged to drill holes in the blanks at such points as desired;also, that the motive power may be applied to the machine differentlythan suggested by me and that the details of construction of theclutch-plate-and the plunger-operating mechanism may be altered. I have,however, found those above described by me a very useful form and inmany respects,from a mechanical standpoint,superior to certain othersthat I have tried, particularly since they embody certain featuresoriginal with me whereby many practical advantages are secured and alsodurability and accuracy of operation of the machine. Therefore in theclaims hereof I will protect myself in the use of some of thesemechanical features.

I claim- 1. In abutton-drilling machine the combination of stationarydrills, aclutch-plate for holding the button-blanks, means tointermittently rotate the clutch-plate, and means to intermittently andat variable speeds elevate the same to feed the blanks to the drills,for the purposes set forth.

2. In a button-drilling machine the co mbination of stationary drills,means to adjust the drills radially relative to the center of thebutton-blanks, a clutch-plate for holding the button-blanks, means tointermittently hold and rotate the clutch-plate, and means tointermittently and at variable speeds elevate 'the same to feed theblanks to the drills, for

the purposes set forth.

3. In a button-drilling machine the combination of rotatable drills, arotating clutchplate, and means to intermittently cause the clutch-plateto approach the drills bya variable movement, for the purposes setforth.

4:- In a button-drilling machine the combination of rotatable drills, aclutch-plate for the button-blanks, means to cause the clutchplate toapproach the drills at variable speed, and means to adjust the initialposition of the clutch-plate relative to the drills, for the purposesset forth.

5. In a button-drilling machine the combination of a clutch-plate, apulley for rotating it, a continuously-running belt engaging with saidpulley, a ratchet and pawl for locking said plate, and means forintermittently tripping said pawl, for the purposes set forth.

6. In a button-drilling machine the combination of a clutch-plate,apulley for rotating it, a oontinuously-running belt engaging with saidpulley, a ratchet and pawl for locking said plate, means forintermittently tripping said pawl, means for intermittently elevatingsaid clutch-plate, and devices for vertically adjusting the initial orstarting point of said clutch-plate, for the purposes set forth.

'7. In a button-drilling machine the combination of means for holdingthe buttons and alternately lifting them against a series of stationarydrills, and means to adjust the initial or starting point of saidbutton-holding devices, for the purposes set forth.

8. In a button-drilling machine the combination of a shaft for giving areciprocating movement to the button-holding plate, an eccentric pin 01'crank on the shaft, an eccentric sleeve upon said pin, and means toadjust the sleeve relative to the pin, for the purposes set forth.

Signed at Amsterdam, in the county of Montgomery and State of New York,this 28th day of February, A. D. 1899.

FRANK M. JOSLIN.

\Vitnesses:

R. SIMON BLOOD, CHAS. W. CLARK.

